North-South Korean liaison office opens in border city

By

Wooyoung Lee

South Korean officials and civilians led by Vice Unification Minister Chun Hae-sung meet with North Korean officials in North Korea's border town of Kaesong on June 8 to discuss establishing a liaison office there. Photo by Unification Ministry/Yonhap

SEOUL, Sept. 13 (UPI) -- North and South Korea opened a liaison office on Friday in the border city of Kaesong to facilitate cross-border communications.

The opening of the liaison office comes as a follow-up measure of the April summit between South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

North and South Korean officials will be based at the office to assist communications between the North and South for ongoing inter-Korean projects and future exchanges.

According to South Korean media Chosun Ilbo, Seoul plans to have 25 to 30 staff members stationed at the office.

The liaison office is located in the joint factory complex in Kaesong, 37 miles north of Seoul. The South Korean government closed the joint factory complex in 2016, amid intensifying military tensions due to the North's nuclear and missile tests.

The office will enable face-to-face communication between the North and South in implementing a series of inter-Korean projects, including the ongoing railway project to connect disjointed railroads and restore old and damaged railways in the North, according to the Unification Ministry.